Strangers Like Me
by GW Katrina
Summary: The simplest of beginnings can create the most tangled of webs. Pre-Series. Once again, strange things happen when I listen to the Tarzan soundtrack. AN: This is version 1 of 2. Version 2 is a slashy one. If you are interesting in reading v.2, email me.


_Whatever you do, I'll do it too  
Show me everything and tell me how  
It all means something  
And yet nothing to me  
  
I can see there's so much to learn  
It's all so close and yet so far  
I see myself as people see me  
Oh, I just know there's something bigger out there_

Gojyo frowned as the lightening bug flew closer. It flashed brightly, almost as if it wanted to taunt the boy. The redhead had been trying for several minutes to catch one of the brightly glowing insects, only to have them escape time and time again.

"You're doing it wrong."

The voice behind him made Gojyo jump and make a small squeak. Turning, he glared at the newcomer with angry eyes.

"Don't scare me like that, Jien!" 

The taller demon grinned as he ruffled his baby brother's hair. "So, this is what you've been doing the last few nights. Trying to catch lightening bugs." Dark eyes were full of amusement. "What got you started doing that?"

Suddenly embarrassed, Gojyo looked at the ground. "I donno. I saw some of the other kids doing it, and thought it might be fun." He frowned. "But they keep getting away or I squish them." A slightly distressed look crossed the six-year old's face. "I don't like squishing them, Jien."

Jien's smile changed. It softened, and he messed up Gojyo's hair again. "Come on, you pest. I'll show you the best way to catch them."

The smile Gojyo gave him was the best reward that Jien could ever hope for. Sometimes, nothing was better than being a big brother.

Nothing.  
   
_Every gesture, every move that she makes  
Makes me feel like never before  
Why do I have  
This growing need to be beside her  
  
Ooo, these emotions I never knew  
Of some other world far beyond this place  
Beyond the trees, above the clouds  
I see before me a new horizon_  
  
He truly hated these gatherings that happened every few months. Why did the nuns feel the need to force their wards to socialize like this? Didn't they deal with enough unwanted children as it was? Why gather up several orphanages and make them hold celebrations together?

Sighing silently in frustration, Gonou leaned against the wall. He wished the nuns didn't force him to come to these things. He barely liked to deal with the idiots that he lived with now, never mind that there was only one more year and he was free if the place. The logic of making him come was clear. The 'dear nuns' hoped that he would be more friendly with new people. 

It never worked.

"No, thank you."

Gonou's head rose from contemplating the floor. The voice had been soft, barely managing to cut through the din if too many people in too small a space. But something in it had caught his attention. Green eyes searched the crowd,

Nearby, there was a young woman shaking her head. The boy in front of her sighed and moved away. He quickly found another girl to dance with him. Not that Gonou cared. His attention was fully on the girl.

She was beautiful.

Her long dark hair was pulled into a braid, which reached her waist. The simple dress she wore only served to flatter her slim figure all the better. Even from where he stood, Gonou could just feel the shyness radiate off of her. Something seemed to pull him to her.

Unable to resist, Gonou moved, weaving past people he barely saw. He stopped a few feet away, not wanting to crowd her.

Still, she looked up at him, and Gonou held his breath.

She had the most beautiful green eyes.

Swallowing hard, Gonou held out his hand. "Hello,' he said in a soft voice. "My name is Gonou."

Gracefully, she took his extended hand. A soft smile curled faintly across her face. "Nice to meet you, Gonou. I am Kanan."

   
  
_Come with me now to see my world  
Where there's beauty beyond your dreams  
Can you feel the things I feel  
Right now, with you  
Take my hand  
There's a world I need to know  
_  
That annoying brat.

Even when Sanzo had confronted him, all the boy did was stare blankly at him. The voice in the back of his head did not stop mumbling, even if it did get quieter.

Was this what his Master had heard, that night he had pulled a crying baby from the river? A voice that wouldn't shut up, no matter how much you wanted it to?

Damn it, his life was too complicated now. He didn't need the nuisance of having to ignore someone whimpering in the back of his mind all the time.

As he studied the boy, who stared at him with gold eyes, Sanzo frowned. Gold eyes that were almost blank. There was little in them, and Sanzo wondered just how long the child had been locked away under the mountain.

/five hundred years…/ whispered a voice.

It should have startled him, but Sanzo was getting used to voices that came from nowhere. Five hundred years. That was a long time to sit anywhere, let alone someplace so dark and depressing.

And it must have been depressing. The only real thing in the boy's eyes was sadness. Something had happened to hurt him. Hurt him deeply enough to empty him of any emotion besides the pain of sadness.

/pain you share…/

Now that was a familiar voice. The voice of his master.

Sanzo realized with a start that he felt sorry for the child. He had been trying to rid himself of those annoying emotions, never wanting to be hurt like he had been when his master had died. He had done well at his task, especially since he was reserved in his affections anyway.

But would his master have wanted him to do this?

Maybe he heard this noisy brat child for a reason.

Growling at himself. Sanzo stretched out his hand. "I'll take you with me. Since I don't see any other choice."

The chains melted away, and the deadness left those golden eyes at the same time. They seemed to light up, almost like miniature suns. The hand that gripped his was cool as Sanzo pulled the boy from his darkness.

/suns should never set…/

_...i wanna know_


End file.
